Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra is a big AI-powered video powerhouse – and the world's first anti-shoulder surfing smartphone

For those who feel the prying eyes of the world peeking over their shoulder, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has something special for you. Indeed, the entire S26 range (standard, Plus, and Ultra) has a new pixel-level feature that blocks out the display from the side and above.

'Privacy Display', as it is known, is arguably the most important feature on the Galaxy S26. This is a type of anti-shoulder surfing technology that obscures your screen. It works automatically on notifications, but needs to be activated for individual apps. Once on, sideways viewers will only see a dark display.

The feature works at 'the pixel level', according to Samsung, and it is the result of five years of software engineering and tests. It's an appealing capability for the Samsung S26, but we expect it won't be long before other vendors have alternatives.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Design and specs

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There really isn't much to say about the S26 Ultra's design, other than a few new color options and a slight reduction in thickness (7.9mm). To the naked eye, it looks the same as the S25 and the S24, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It's a great design, with those nice flat edges, and a minimalist back cover, both made from 'Armor Aluminum'. It's a very distinctive look, particularly with the camera island and its many lenses.

Most of the changes and improvements are software or internal. Starting with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, which powers a range of new capabilities for both on-device artificial intelligence and quite striking improvements to the camera software.

The S26 range has been designed under the banner of 'effortless AI', with more generative capabilities and shortcuts with simpler operations. Each of the models in the range will offer tailored experiences as they learn about the user, and offer impressive-looking capabilities for managing daily life and work – all through a new data engine. Bixby is also still lurking on your Samsung device, though it can now search the web.

However, it's the cameras (as always) where the Ultra really shines. There are four lenses (200MP, 10MP, and two 50MP – one periscope telephoto) with vast improvements to the software that underpins them. Case in point, night shots which use the Snapgragon chip to pull more detail out in low light settings, with a brighter aperture and less noise.

For video, the Ultra goes even bigger, with an 8K sensor recording at 30fps. It boost stabalization, allows for auto framing, and automatic corrections (up to 360 degrees) for action shots. For professionals and content creators, the Ultra also has Advanced Professional Video (APV) capabilities, which preserve the quality of your shoots from capture through to edits, which is also aided by the improvements to storage.

Other notable updates include the battery, which has been improved, with faster charging (0-75% in 30 minutes). And it also sends the bare minimum power to certain apps – so it gives you enough to WhatsApp, but doesn't waste power.

If you want to know what really makes the Ultra better than the other two models, it is content capture, and the S26 Ultra is a creative powerhouse.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra specifications

CPU Snapgragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Display 6.9in Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+

RAM up to 16GB

Storage up to 1TB

Cameras 200MP f/1.4 (wide), 10MP, (telephoto), 50MP f/2.8 (periscope telephoto), 50MP f/2.9 (ultrawide). Front: 12 MP f/2.2, (wide)

Connectivity Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

Dimensions 163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9 mm

Weight 214 g

Operating system Android 16, up to 7 major Android upgrades, One UI 8.5